Better Than Old Times
by QueenRiley
Summary: When Rocky is upset at being passed over for yet another teamup, Adam knows the best way to make him feel better.


Rocky was pouting. He was definitely pouting. Had been ever since Adam came back from that teamup with Alpha. And Adam knew, without a word being said, what he had to do to fix it. He knew, and he would do it, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"I hope you appreciate this, Rocko. You have no idea what you're not asking of me," Adam whispered to himself as he picked up his cellphone. He'd found the number in the phone book, just like she said it would be.

"Hello, Kira? Yeah, it's Adam. I need a favour. I need you to help me get in touch with Tommy. No, I won't call him that. You know I don't believe he got that doctorate legitimately. I don't want… oh alright. Fine. Dr. O. I need to get in touch with Dr. O. Yes, I know what I said. Of course I'm still mad at him for that stunt with the reds, but this is important. It's for… a friend. A good friend. Please, Kira?" Adam hung up the phone with the assurance, begrudgingly given of course, that Kira would give Tommy his number. She was definitely a true Yellow Ranger, through and through. He breathed a sigh of relief. Now all he had to do was wait.

-

Things had gone off with barely a snag thus far. It had taken three months, but the plan was finally coming full circle. Rocky had mostly stopped pouting in that time, sure, but Adam knew it was still bothering him. Adam could tell, deep down, where even Rocky might be unaware of it, it was still affecting him. Adam would do anything to keep Rocky from moping. He hated it when Rocky moped. He looked so sad, like a lost little puppy dog. And finally, FINALLY, Adam would be able to fix things for good.

There was a knock at the door. It was starting.

"Hey, Adam, could you get that? My hands are all soapy." Rocky called from the kitchen. Adam grinned to himself and threw open the door, knowing exactly what was waiting for him before he even got there.

"Rocky, it's for you!" he called, shushing the giggles as best he could.

"What?" Adam rolled his eyes and waited for the water to stop running before answering.

"The door. It's for you. Must be a Christmas present."

"Christmas was yesterday! Can it wait?" Adam rolled his eyes.

"Quite being such a stubborn ass and come see what you got, will you?" He yelled. Rocky rounded the corner, drying his hands on a dishtowel, and stopped dead in his tracks. The dishtowel fell to the floor and Adam was worried Rocky wasn't far behind it.

"Surprise!" a chorus echoed behind Adam. Kim, Tommy, Jason, Zack, and Tanya stood, smiles splitting their faces. Adam watched as Rocky's eyes took in each and every face. It had been years, more than in some cases, since Rocky had seen any of them. But here they were standing in his living room. Adam had managed it, with a lot of help, but he'd gotten them all to come back to Angel Grove for Christmas. Back for Rocky.

It was the first time he'd ever seen Rocky speechless. His mouth kept trying to form words, but no sound came out. Tanya spoke up first, nervously trying to break the silence.

"When we set up the tour I had no idea, but. Well. I had a show in LA two nights ago, so when Kim called me… it was easy to set up a break between shows at Christmas. I just had to make sure the band would stop in Angel Grove. It's good to see you, Rocky." Tanya said, squeezing his hand tight. Kim reached out for him.

"Jason actually called me. I didn't have any scheduled time off, but the newspaper totally loved the idea of doing a Rangers In Retrospect piece. So I convinced them to let me come here. I had planned on visiting my brother anyway. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see you, too." Rocky bent over and hugged Kim hard, lifting her tiny frame off the ground and squeezing while she giggled.

"Blame Zack, man. I heard it from him. I knew I should have changed my number when I left Torch… uh… the Peace Conference. Anyway, a chance to go back to Angel Grove? To see you, Rocky? I missed working with you, hanging out with you. I had to be here." Rocky reached out to shake hands, but Jason grabbed him and swallowed him in a hug. He lingered long enough to make Adam wonder if there wasn't something he didn't know about between the two of them, but it was fleeting and Rocky moved on quickly, wiping at his eyes.

"Blame me, right? I'm completely innocent, y'know. It was all Tommy's idea. He called me up out of the blue one day and asked where I was working now. Well I'm still down in LA but it's just a hop, skip, and a jump up here. Any chance to get the old team together, right?" Zack shook hands with Rocky, both grinning wide enough to split their faces. Adam wasn't sure how Rocky would react to Tommy. The oversight at the red ranger teamup had stung far more than Rocky was willing to admit to anybody but Adam.

"I only wish it were my idea. I got a phone call from a very insistent former student of mine, chastising me for being a horrible friend. I lost touch with you a long time ago, and I never should have. I didn't try hard enough to find you, not after graduating, not when... well. We needed you. And it's my fault you weren't... I'm sorry anyway. I missed you, man." Tommy looked sheepish, and even Adam felt sorry for him. He hadn't meant for Kira to go all guilt-trip. Rocky held out his hand and Tommy took it gladly.

"And the blame falls on me. I called Kira so I could get ahold of Tommy. It was all my idea." Rocky surprised them all by grabbing Adam and kissing him hard right in the middle of the living room. When Adam reached up to cup Rocky's cheeks, he felt warm moisture gathering there. Adam pulled back and leaned his forehead against Rocky's.

"Love you. Thank you." Rocky whispered.

"Merry Christmas," Adam replied.

The door was thrown open, startling them all from the uncomfortable silence.

"My plane was late. Did I miss the party?" Aisha dropped her bags. Kim rushed over to hug her, but she was unceremoniously shoved out of the way. Rocky got there first, wrapping Aisha in a tight embrace and refusing to let go.

"Isha" he whispered, over and over again. 

"Rocky, honey, I missed you too. But breathing? Kind of not optional here," she stammered out. Rocky let her go and Kim slipped her way in, squeezing just as tight as Rocky had. He stepped back and grabbed Adam's hand. His eyes glistened.

"It's everybody, Adam. You got almost everybody," he whispered. Adam grimaced.

"Yeah, almost. Kat… well she tried. She's back in Australia now and the flights are just too expensive. She is going to call, though. Tomorrow. Or tonight. Or… well, sometime. I wasn't too clear on the time difference." Rocky smiled sadly and squeezed Adam's hand.

"And if Australia is too far, I'm guessing Aquitar is way out of the question." That was a particular pain point for the both of them. Of all the people that had left, that had moved on, Billy was the only one that never really got a proper goodbye, at any point in history. Billy was the one Rocky missed the most. And Billy was the only one Adam hadn't been able to find, despite exhausting all his contacts and even begging Alpha to hack into the satellite systems. He'd not been able to reach Aquitar and, as such, hadn't been able to contact Billy.

"Aquitar is definitely too far away," a voice said from the door. "But LA isn't." They turned together to find Billy standing in the doorway; young, healthy, and hand in hand with Trini. There were murmors of surprise from around the room, but Zack and Jason only smiled slyly, and Trini couldn't hide her satisfaction at their surprise. Rocky hadn't noticed any of it, though. He was too busy holding onto Billy, crying freely now.

"You came back," he whispered. Billy wrapped his arms around Rocky and swayed with him, tears in his own eyes.

"Yeah, I did. A long time ago. I should have said something, but I didn't think anybody… well, I was wrong, wasn't I?" He pulled back, but Rocky wouldn't let go. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Rocky. When I heard how you lost your powers. I should have been there for you." Rocky could only shake his head and wipe away the tears. He led Billy inside and motioned for him to sit on the couch.

Adam leaned against the doorframe to the bedroom and smiled, watching his boyfriend and all their old friends crowd into his tiny living room. Aisha sidled up beside him and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head on his shoulder. He shifted to give her a better resting spot and pulled her closer.

"Best Christmas ever, Adam. It's just like old times, having the whole gang together again," she whispered. Adam smiled as the room erupted in laughter at the punch line to some story Tommy was telling about his young former team of rangers.

"No, Isha. It's better than old times."


End file.
